I am running a simulation and during the beginning of the solving phase I get the error "improper orientation for beam element". The beams are simple cylinders attached to a surface. If I change the beams to a solid the error goes away. I would really like to know if anyone has gotten this error before.

3. For any beams (especially ones that show a warning about being too short) that appear to have an incorrect neutral axis, right-click on the beam in the Simulation Study Tree > 'Define Beam Neutral Axis'.

4. If the issue persists, it could be due to problematic geometry. Create a new study with only a single body that demonstrates the issue, then try modifying the geometry to simplify until you find that the issue goes away. This may give you a clue as to what is causing the message.

5. If you are using SOLIDWORKS 2014 SP2 or older, this could be related to a known issue (SPR 744781 - "'Internal error. Improper orientation for beam element 32878' error when solving study. Caused by filleted solid treated as beam."). Try upgrading to 2014 SP5 to see if that resolves the issue and contact your SOLIDWORKS Reseller if you need additional assistance.